September 12, 2019
Supreme court order gives administration the green light to turn away those who have passed through a third countryCentral American migrants look through a border fence as US border patrol agents stand guard in Tijuana, Mexico, on 25 November 2018.
Trump officials to move to impose near-total block on asylum seekers at border
Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Trump administration is threatening to move swiftly to impose a near-total block on Central Americans seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border after the US supreme court gave its temporary blessing to a nationwide clampdown that effectively ends America’s status as a safe haven for those fleeing persecution.In an order issued on Wednesday night, the court gave the Trump administration policy the green light to turn away those asylum seekers who have passed through a third country before reaching the southern border.The shift will affect virtually all of the thousands of families from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras who pass through Mexico on the perilous journey north.Within hours of the ruling, senior administration figures said they would move instantly to implement the changes. Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of US Citizenship and immigration Services (USCIS), said the agency “will commence implementing the asylum rule asap”.Donald Trump bragged in a tweet that the ruling was a “BIG … WIN for the Border on Asylum!”The likelihood of a further tightening of the US government’s stranglehold on asylum seekers at the US border comes as the number of Central Americans crossing into the country has already steadily declined in recent months. Much of the reduction has come from increased interception by the Mexican government under threat of reprisals from Washington.The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has been careful to placate Trump after the US president threatened to close the border entirely earlier this year. Mexico’s foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, responded to the supreme court order on Thursday, saying that “we obviously don’t agree with it, we have a different policy”.But there was no indication that Mexico would try to resist the change, even though it could have severe implications on its side of the territorial divide. There are thought to be at least 45,000 Central Americans who have been turned away by US agents and forced to wait within Mexico while their asylum claims are processed, which can take many months.The supreme court’s order will apply temporarily. The issue of whether asylum claims should be accepted from those who have passed through third countries has led to conflicting rulings in lower courts, and those legal disparities are still working their way through the system.The issue is almost certain to rise up the legal food chain once again until it returns to the supreme court for a full hearing that would settle the question once and for all.But until the law is settled, the rule change will effectively put on ice decades of procedure whereby America prided itself as a safe haven for those who had fled persecution. Refugees have been able to turn up at the US border and make a “credible fear” claim that they faced danger back at home.Now, under the new rule families, including children, who have passed through Mexico can be deported immediately back to their native countries without any thought being paid to the risks they might face on their return.The news provoked an outpouring of criticism, even from within the supreme court itself. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissenting opinion that was joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in which the justice said the rule upended “longstanding practices regarding refugees who seek shelter from persecution”.Sotomayor added: “The rule the government promulgated topples decades of settled asylum practices and affects some of the most vulnerable people in the western hemisphere.”Jess Morales Rocketto, chair of a coalition of groups opposing the immigration crackdown, said: “The Trump administration has put babies in cages, ripped thousands of children away from their parents, banned Muslims from this country because of their religion, started concentration camps, and now they are closing the doors of America to Central American refugees. All parents want freedom and opportunity for their children. But when it comes to the American dream, Trump and his Republican allies are saying: ‘Latinos need not apply.’”Trump continues to make his hardline approach to immigration a central facet of his presidency, and he is likely to make the subject a mainstay of his bid for re-election next year. This month he snatched $3.6bn from the Pentagon’s budget to fund his controversial border wall.Recently the Trump administration also ran roughshod over a court agreement that had spared migrant families, including children, from being detained for more than 20 days. The change is facing several legal challenges, but unless it is overturned it is likely to see a dramatic increase in families being held indefinitely in secure facilities that have been likened to prisons.
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.